1. DEVELOPMENTALLY
APPROPRIATE PRACTICE
Stephany Lawhon
Amanda Ballard
Jordan Bittner
Jenny Kim

2. CHAPTER 11
Developmentally Appropriate
Social/Emotional Environments: For
Preschoolers

3. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ISSUES IN PRESCHOOL
YEARS
 Identification process
 Gender/sex role identity
 Cultural and racial identity
 Initiative
 Friendship
 Prosocial behavior versus Aggression
 Self Control

4. GENDER IDENTIT Y
 Two components:
 Sexual identity
 Sex-role behavior
“Young children struggle with many issues as they attempt to
understand what being a girl or boy means. The support they do or do
not get in their preschool years lays the foundation for the rest of
their gender identity formation”

5. CULTURAL AND RACIAL IDENTIT Y
 Understanding of one’s racial or ethnic identity
 It is important to respond to cultural diversity.
 Respect and acceptance is required for an ef fective early
childhood education.
Question:
 How can you show acceptance to all races/cultures in your
classroom?

6. INITIATIVE
 Healthy sense of self
 Children want to assert themselves through initiative
through pretending, inventing, creating, taking risks,
and playing with others.
 PLAY!

7. FRIENDSHIP
Friendship and learning the skills of friendship
are important social/emotional issues of early
childhood.
Desirable social skills can be taught and
modeled by helpful teachers .

8. PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR VERSUS AGGRESSION
Positive discipline methods help promote
prosocial behaviors and lessen aggression
Children exhibit prosocial behaviors when they
become aware of the need of help of others

9. SELF CONTROL
 The process of forming a conscience - “an inner voice of self
observation, self-guidance, self-punishment” is the goal of
appropriate guidance for preschoolers.

10. DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE
ENVIRONMENTS FOR FEELINGS
 Security
 Warm Relationships
 Acceptance
 Active Listening
 Limits on Expression
 Providing outlets
 Modeling behavior
 Materials for expression
 Learning about feelings
 Vocabulary to Express Feelings

11. NURTURING INDIVIDUAL IDENTIT Y
 It is inappropriate to treat children as they are only
members of a group
 It is important to recognize the unique
characteristics and needs of each and every child as
an individual
 It is important to recognize that forming a healthy
gender identity is development task for preschool
children.
 It helps to enable them to clarify answers.

12. IMPLICATIONS-INDIVIDUAL IDENTIT Y
 Use words and nonverbal actions to show affection and
sincere interest in them
 Spend time talking individually with each child each
day.
 Create a classroom atmosphere that encourages and
values individuality
 Respond with sensitivity to children’s individuality.
 Convey respect for individual parents’ styles and needs.

13.  Provide opportunities, materials, and
encouragement for children to initiate activities
that have meaning and interest them personally.
 Continually incorporate concepts related to
personal identity into learning activities and
conversations.

14. IMPLICATIONS-GENDER IDENTIT Y
 Accept children's rights to be curious about their
bodies
 Offer experiences that challenge narrow,
stereotypical views of gender behavior.
 Recognize the play environment to encourage more
cross-gender play choices.
 Use art and photos to broaden children's views of
what jobs men and women can do.

15.  Examine pictures and language in books in the
classroom to show diversity in work and home roles.
 Involved children in new activities.
 Encourage all family members to become involved.
 Communicate with parents about goals and
classroom practices to support healthy gender
identity
 Examine personal feelings about gender -free
activities, comments, and attitudes.

16. DISCUSSION
 What types of things do you see in your classroom that show
acceptance for gender and individual identity?
 What would you do in your classroom?

17. ROUTINES: WHY THEY MATTER AND HOW
TO GET STARTED
 Having a routine in a classroom allows children to feel secure
and safe.
 Feeling secure and safe allow children to trust each other
because their lives are predictable and stable.
 What types of routines do you see in your classroom?

18. CULTURAL AND RACIAL IDENTIT Y
 When teachers are able to create an antibias environment for
the students it will promote positive attitudes towards cultural
and race identity.
 There are many goals for an antibias environment for all
children to be aware of.
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Self awareness
Confidence
Family pride
Positive social identities
Express comfort with human diversity
Recognize fairness and understand that fairness hurts
 Teachers should be including ideas about cultural diversity
and respect in their daily interactions and aware that what
they are or are not using in the classroom will show what is
valued by others.

19. CULTURAL AND RACIAL IDENTIT Y CONT.
 Teachers can do the following:
 Look through all pictures and books to make sure that they are portraying
the diversity of the classroom, community, and total North American
population.
 Reading daily to the students can help them appreciate the diversity of
the world.
 Providing toys, materials, and activities for centers that celebrate
diversity.
 Involving parents in classroom activities, visits, and allowing them to
share family stories about cultural background.
 Working with families to support and maintain children's home language,
but also working with them to learn English.
 Becoming sensitive to opportunities to help children move from
discomfort to knowing how to gently challenge ideas that could lead to
bias development.

20. FRIENDSHIP
 Preschoolers are at the stage where they are beginning to
understand what friendship means.
 Adults and teachers able to help students with the beginning
of friendship when they:
Allow time for face to face conversations.
Providing materials that promote social play.
Pairing children up during activities.
Asking children if they would like to play with a friend.
Help children develop effective skills for entering play.
Help children understand how their behavior affects the response of
others.
 Model play entry skills to help students who are less skilled in the activity
learn how to enter the play.
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21. FRIENDSHIP CONT.
 Help children practice effective communication.
 Give children information to help them recognize when a friend wants to
play with them.
 Explore ideas of friendship and social skills with children.
 Help students recognize that preschool friendships may be short lived.

22. TEACHING PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
 The preschool years are the time to become aware of early
opportunities for learning and teaching.
 Teachers are able to do many things to help students develop
prosocial behavior.
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Providing Materials
Providing Activities
Encouraging Assistance
Considering Posocial Actions
Help Children Recognize Prosocial Behavior
Reinforcing Prosocial Behavior

23. TEACHING PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR CONT.
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Modeling Prosocial Behavior
Limiting Aggression and Antisocial Behavior
Help Develop Empathy
Opportunities for Kindness
Creating a Caring Community

24. GUIDANCE TOWARD SELF -CONTROL
 Preschool children are beginning to develop to control their
impulses and are able to express their needs through
language.
 There are many dif ferent techniques that teachers should
know and try to help teach appropriate behaviors.
 Developmentally Appropriate Guidance:
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Focusing on what children do right, rather than what they are doing wrong.
Working together to correct situations
Practices that do not support positive guidance
Emphasize coercion
Focus on retaliation
Stop behavior without teaching alternatives
Involve displaying adult anger with children’s limitations in self -control.

25. GUIDANCE TOWARD SELF -CONTROL
CONT.
 Ten positive guidance techniques that are developmentally
appropriate:
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Modeling
Positive Statements
Reinforcement, Noticing, Strokes
Redirection
Setting Limits
Choices for Control
Natural and Logical Consequences
Discussion for Problem Solving
“I”-messages
Renewal Time

26. SUPPORTING
PRESCHOOLERS’ POSITIVE
PEER RELATIONSHIPS
 Friendships provide important opportunities for children to
learn and develop.
 Best practice emphasizes the importance of respecting and
promoting diversity in children’s play experiences and
friendships.
 When children try dif ferent activities and ways of
communicating and interacting, they are better poised to
develop the flexibility to interact successfully in a range of
social groups and situations.
(Manaster, 2012)

27. SUPPORTING
PRESCHOOLERS’ POSITIVE
PEER RELATIONSHIPS
 Teachers are in a unique position to cultivate children’s cross gender interactions and friendships. By intentionally planning
and supporting certain experiences, educators can encourage
children to build a social world characterized by meaningful
relationships with peers of both sexes.
 When we take action to help children focus on their common
interests, we create opportunities for girls and boys to share
positive experiences with one another —and this may
encourage them to seek each other out in the future.
(Manaster, 2012)

28. ACTIVIT Y
Behavior Role Play

29. CHAPTER 12
Developmentally Appropriate
Social/Emotional Environments: For
Primary Aged Children

30. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ISSUES FOR THE
PRIMARY YEARS
 Development of self-esteem in the primary years is closely
bound to the development of a sense of industry, defined as
the core conflict of the school years.
 Core Conflict: Erikson’s term that describes the psychosocial issue to
be resolved in each stage of development for healthy personality
development
 Influenced by both cognitive and social accomplishments

31. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ISSUES FOR THE
PRIMARY YEARS
 Peer Relationships and Group Skills
 “By age six most American children spend more than 40% of
their waking hours in the company of peers”
 This has to do with the development of middle childhood.
 At this age parents are realizing the children’s greater ability
to think and act for themselves and allow them to begin
spending extensive time with their friends.
 These new experiences in friendship allow for children to
master new cognitive and social skills.

32. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ISSUES FOR THE
PRIMARY YEARS
Peer Relationships and Group Skills ( ctnd.)
 Basic Developmental Functions of Friendship
Friendships…
 Are the source of learning basic social skills such as communication,
cooperation, and the ability to enter an existing group.
 Help children learn about themselves, others and the larger world.
 Offer fun, emotional support and relief from stress.
 Help children begin to learn about intimate relationships
 Seem to help children feel good about themselves.
 Friendship teaches skills that help children fit into peer
groups which is an important task in the primary years.

33. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ISSUES FOR THE
PRIMARY YEARS
Peer Relationships and Group Skills ( ctnd.)
 It is crucial for teachers to help children develop the social
skills necessary for group membership.
 Students who do not develop these friendship skills are at risk
for:
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Poor school achievement
Greater likelihood of dropping out of school
Higher incidences of juvenile delinquency
Poor mental health as adults.
 Adult interventions and coaching from teachers can help
children develop better relationship skills.

34. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ISSUES FOR THE
PRIMARY YEARS
Moral Development
 Primary aged children become increasingly able to judge right
from wrong, based on intentions.
 Primary aged children are in a stage of moral realism.
 Moral Realism: when rules are regarded as unchangeable, absolute,
and imposed by an external authority.
 Preconventional level of morality: when moral reasoning is influenced
by a concern for obedience and punishment for satisfying personal
needs.
 School age children slowly move into the conventional level of
morality.
 Conventional level of morality: when children become more
concerned with being fair and good, and look to others to approve the
moral acts.

35. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ISSUES IN THE
PRIMARY YEARS
Emotional Development and Stress
 For most students the early school years brings feelings of
stress to their lives for the first time.
 As children are beginning to learn how to deal with this stress,
it is important to create less stressful environments for them.
 It is also important to help them learn how to cope with
stress, and learn to deal with these new feelings as they
develop.

36.  Table Pairing and Share
 What are some potential stressors that school -aged children
might face for the first time?
 How can a teacher best help his/her students cope with these
new feeling of stress? Name one strategy.

37. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS PLANNING
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
 Teachers can arrange their classrooms and activities to
benefit the social/emotional development of the children.
Skills for Group Participation
 Teachers trying to help develop peer group skills should:
 Become aware a children’s style of interaction, preferences of
companions, and ability to communicate with others.
 Helps teachers to plan appropriate grouping or pairings
 Sociograms are a good tool for keeping track of the children socially,
diagraming their patterns of social interaction or isolation.

38. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS PLANNING
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Skills for Group Participation ( ctnd.)
 Create informal physical arrangements that allow children to work
with particular people and allow for small group interaction.
 Physical environment can help support children working and talking
together.
 This benefits students who are quieter and work more comfortable in a
more intimate setting.
 Create specific pairings for projects.
 Based off of children’s interests or communication styles.
 Working collaboratively together on a common activity often fosters
friendships between students.

39. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS PLANNING
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Skills for Group Participation ( ctnd.)
 Teach social skills directly
 Less popular children usually are unable to initiate contact with other
children and often provoke those peers with undesirable behaviors.
 It is important for adults to intervene and teach these children appropriate
social skills to prevent the behavior from becoming permanent.
Social Skills that can be taught:
1. Giving attention to others
2. Becoming aware of others perspectives and wishes.
3. Taking turns
4. Initiating conversation
5. Listening and talking appropriately
6. Being assertive rather than aggressive
7. Looking and being supportive of other children
8. Learning to enjoy being with others

40. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS PLANNING
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Skills for Group Participation ( ctnd.)
 Support children as they learn to take a social perspective.
 Teachers should plan classroom activities and discussions to help children
understand other’s feelings
 Classroom meetings a great way of implementing this.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= -vCdCoV0JdQ
 Plan group activities so that curriculum and daily time are designed
for cooperative learning.
 When children discover the joys of working with others as a team, they are
motivated to develop group participation skills.
 Positive group experiences need to be fostered by the teacher, they don’t
just “happen”

41. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS PLANNING
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Skills for Group Participation ( ctnd.)
 Create a classroom atmosphere that will not tolerate exclusion or
unkindness to its members.
 Teachers need to help children see that each member of the class has a
different and valuable contribution to make.
 Teachers should teach children to refuse to react to provocative behavior,
instead of negatively reacting to it.
 Create a sense of “caring community of learners that supports all
children to develop and learn”
 Allow children to engage in empathetic activities and consider others
perspectives.

42. SELF-ESTEEM
 Teachers have an important role in creating environments that
foster the development of student’s self -esteem and selfef ficacy.
 Self-esteem: Confidence in one’s own worth or abilities
 Self-efficacy: The confidence of an individual in their ability to
perform certain tasks.
 Children with higher self -esteem and self-ef ficacy seem to be
more academically successful.
(Szente, 2007)

43. SELF-ESTEEM
Children develop self -esteem from environments which:
 Have learning tasks and methods that are developmentally
appropriate to their level.
 Individual plans and materials allow children to learn without fear of
failure/embarrassment.
 There is a broadened scope of activities.
 This helps children involve themselves with their peers instead of
socially comparing themselves to their peers.

44. SELF-ESTEEM
 Children feel that they are equal and respected within the
classroom.
 Teachers have planned games and classroom activities that
enhance self-esteem
 Children participate in democratic discipline.
 Students should take an active role in classroom regulation.

45. SELF-ESTEEM
 Teachers need to promote a strong self -ef ficacy, just as much
as self-esteem.
 Children with strong self -ef ficacy are more persistent and
more motivated to accomplish goals.
 Teachers need to allow children to set goals, and promote
self-motivation toward those goals.
 Goals need to be both long and short term, as well as
measurable.
 These goals should be appropriate to the students development, and
something they can achieve.
 Teachers should find ways to help students reach their goals.
(Szente,
2007)

47. ACTIVIT Y
 Group 1
 Create a developmentally appropriate classroom environment that
promotes group skills and participation for a preschool student who
is very timid and does not want to enter in group activities with other
students.
 Group 2
 Create a developmentally appropriate classroom environment that
promotes group skills and participation for a primary aged student
who is aggressive and hostile toward other students in a group
setting.

48. REFERENCES
 Medof f, L. (August 6, 2013). Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/magazine/ar ticle/importance routines-preschool-children/
 Manaster, Hillar y; Jobe, Maureen (201 2) Suppor ting Preschoolers’
Positive Peer Relationships Young Children, v67 n5 p12 Nov 2012. 6
pp.
 Szente, Judit. (2007) Empowering Young Children for Success in
School and in Life. Early Childhood Education Journal, vol. 34, No.
6, June 2007. pp.449 -453
 The DSC Way (August 26,2011.) Retrieved
fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vCdCoV0JdQ